Schools should be safe—but they are not always safe for everybody. Authors Pamela Wilcox, Graham Ousey, and Marie Skubak Tillyer studied crime among students located across diverse middle- and high-school settings to investigate why some students engage in delinquency—but others do not—and why some students are more prone to victimization. School Zone focuses on the three key interactional elements—context, victims, and offenders—to understand and explain the impact of common crim...

Probably one of the least known characters in the passion narrative of Jesus is Simon of Cyrene. Very little is said or known about this man who briefly helped Jesus carry his cross. It isn't known how long he trudged through the streets with Jesus or even if Simon and Jesus ever spoke to each other. What was going through Simon's mind as he helped Jesus? What happened when he arrived at Golgotha? Did he stay or disappear back into the crowd, not wanting to look upon the horror? More impor...

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, Jesus passes by Bartimaeus, a blind beggar. Bartimaeus calls out, "Master, let me see again." Jesus cures him and gives him back his sight. So many things in life depend on the way we see things. This book is an invitation to look at the way we see things in life. We may not be physically blind like Bartimaeus, but each of us can be blind in our own ways. Reading through these pages will hopefully give you the opportunity to change the way you look at som...

Mother Teresa said, "to have courage for whatever comes in life--everything lies in that." When people think about courage, they often think about those who put their lives on the line for us every day, like first responders, firefighters, or police officers. But there are so many others who quietly endure, with steadfast courage, whatever comes their way in life. These people are like the anawhim in the Old Testament--the good, kind people whom very few know about, but who trust in the Lo...

Abraham Joshua Heschel said that, "We are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we have the answers." He believed that to be a Christian is not to be a person who knows all the answers but one who "lives in the part of the self where the question is constantly being born." Most of us don't think very much about our questions. In our culture, we are accustomed to being able to find out answers to nearly any question just by typing it into Google search or asking Siri. But beh...

The well known Austrian poet and spiritual writer, Rainer Maria Rilke encouraged his young friend not to be a "waster of sorrows," but to use them in a positive way as a means to help him grow in holiness. And isn't this the challenge for all of us? Everyone has sorrows in life. The important question is: what can we do with them so that we don't waste them? Whether our sorrows are personal or communal, how can we share our mutual vulnerability so that we can connect with others in a way t...

The English writer G. K. Chesterton once wrote: "Nothing taken for granted; everything received with gratitude; everything passed on with grace." These reflections are the author's effort, as an older father, to pass on to his daughter, with grace, what he believes is truly important in life. When his daughter was young, he used to tell her that his constant prayer was to live long enough so that "I can get you raised!" Thankfully, that prayer has been answered. But parenting is a life-lon...

As Sergeant Oscar Wylton, a six-foot-two, 196-pound marine lines up to exit the rear door of a CH-53S Sea Dragon helicopter, he knows that he has less than a 10 percent chance of surviving his assignment. As he parachutes into a pit of darkness over the rough terrain near the AfghanistanPakistan border, Wylton has no idea that what he thinks is his final mission as an assassin will not be his last.Wylton has served his country well, distinguishing himself in high-risk conflicts in ...

In St. Teresa of Avila's classic spiritual book Interior Castle she describes a difficult period of time in her spiritual journey when she said, "When I think of myself, I feel like a bird with a broken wing." When I left the monastery thirty-eight years ago, this was exactly how I felt. I Was Gone Long Before I Left is the story about my interior struggle to leave the monastery after living this lifestyle for over twenty-five years. It explores the reasons why I went to the monastery, why...

When we think about the lives of the saints, we can easily forget that they were people just like us--with all the same struggles, temptations, joys, and sorrows we experience in life. They were not born saints; they became saints. And in the course of their journeys through life, other people helped them become the people that God wanted them to be. A Sheltering Tree offers stories of faith, fidelity, and friendship from both Christian and non-Christian writers that explore the importance...

In their second collaboration, Wilcox and Angelis tell the stories of high school educators who embody best practices in their day-to-day activities—practices that consistently lead to higher student academic achievement across the core subjects for all students. This book shares results of a multi-case study of how some high schools consistently deliver better student performance, including improved four-year graduation rates. These schools have learned how to successfully ...

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was a man who sought to integrate life and holiness. He believed that the spiritual life needed to be lived in an active and dynamic way, touching a person's fundamental attitudes and actions. Although Newman rejected the title of spiritual director as such, it is obvious from his correspondence that directing others through various facets of the Christian life was one of his dominant concerns. Surprisingly, comparatively little has been written about Newman's...